Walk This Way!
During weeks 2 and 3 post-op, I was still lacking a bit of knee extension, which is when the knee is fully straight. This made me walk with a slight limp, or hitch in my giddyup. This was even though I was able to fully activate my Vastus Medialis Obliquus (VMO), which is a part of the quadricep muscle responsible for that job. I suspect this was because I still had some slight swelling, and there was also a bit of a pinch or grinding when I tried to fully straighten my knee.
Dr. Bravman and his awesome PA, Keri, were both happy with my range of motion and ability to perform a Straight Leg Raise with minimal quad lag. Quad leg is the name for the inability to fully straighten the knee, that I mentioned above.
“Walk obnoxiously!” That’s what Patrick, my PT 😉 and business partner told me, and I love it! It really gets me to work on fully straightening my knee when standing on it.
And so I did, accentuating a straight knee in walking, as my left heel struck the ground, as I weighted that leg and as my right leg began to swing forward. The muscles then began to get used to activating in this way again, called neuromuscular reeducation, and it became more natural each day. Here I am in week 6 post-op and I rarely limp at all!
View Initial Gait Video
View Walking Obnoxiously Video
~Dr. Jodi Roman
